Quicksilver: Getting things done more quickly

November, 01 2005 04:48 PM Filed in: Productivity
If you are using a Mac without LaunchBar or Quicksilver you are missing out. I used LaunchBar for over a year but switched to Quicksilver this past summer. I've never really written much about this fantastic application and with the latest beta I thought it was about time. First, let me say that Quicksilver is free. Second, let me say that this app will change the way you use your Mac. For those that plan to upgrade to Mac 10.4 Tiger it also serves as a nice sneak-peak into the Spotlight feature.

For those that may not already know, Quicksilver is a program that runs in the background and is activated by a key combination. I've got mine set to activate with command-space. Once activated a search interface appears and waits for textual input. Immediately upon typing the live search begins. If I type "applications" to navigate to my default Applications folder Quicksilver usually comes up with the correct selection before I even get past appl. Since I started using Quicksilver I rarely keep apps in my dock as a shortcut. It's quicker to open them via Quicksilver. I type "iph" and iPhoto is at the top of the list, I hit return and it opens.

But wait, there's more! Finding and opening apps, folders, and files constitutes two actions. Quicksilver is capable of many more actions depending on the context. If I navigate to a jpg on my desktop I have 27 possible actions to choose from. There are finder actions such as copy, move, delete or get info; Mail can be invoked and the file sent to a user chosen in Quicksilver... oh, yeah, did I mention that? I can use Quicksilver to find someone in my address book. I begin typing the first name and within seconds there they are. I can then send them a file via an email, send an email, display their phone or address in large print on the screen, or even activate BuddyPop using the BuddyPop plugin. Plugins, perhaps I should explain?

Quicksilver is extensible via plugins that tie in to applications and application services. Here are some of the plugins I've installed: Adium, BuddyPop, Growl, iPhoto, iTunes, Firefox, and Transmit. Within 4 keystrokes I can open an ftp connection to any Transmit favorite. Those same keystrokes will find and open my iPhoto Albums or iTunes playlists. Internet searching is especially sweet: if I type "goog" I can choose from a standard google search or google images or google groups from within Quicksilver. I can type fedex or ups or usps and enter a tracking number which will open a window in my default browser and display the results of my search. Other searches I can execute from within Quicksilver: IMDB, MacUpdate, VersionTracker, Amazon, Epinions, Dictionary, Wikipedia, Technorati. I can add many more to that list. I'll illustrate the process with IMDB. I open up the site and do a search. I bookmark the search result then I open up that bookmark's properties in the bookmark manager. I searched for Jaws which results in this:

http://us.imdb.com/Find?for=Jaws
so I change it to
http://us.imdb.com/Find?for=***



That's it. Just replace your search term with *** and your done. Now Quicksilver will identify that bookmark as one that has a default action of "Search for" which means that when I type imdb and choose the imdb bookmark I can then hit my tab twice and enter the text I want to search for.

Cool eh? If you don't use Quicksilver do yourself a favor: download it. Give yourself an hour to configure it and then make a point of using it consistently for the next couple of days. Make it a habit and you'll be happy you did.

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